Job opportunities are opening up for playworkers, as 60,000 new staff will be needed over the next five years for expanding out-of-school provision. Anne Longfield, chief executive of the Kids Clubs Network, the national charity which promotes and supports out-of-school childcare, reports that there are more than 5,000 kids clubs in the UK at present and estimates that in five years time there will be around 20,000.
The clubs offer a combination of part-time work during term time and full-time work during the holidays for playwork assistants, as well as year-round full-time jobs for co-ordinators. Of the staff needed over the next five years, about 20,000 will be co-ordinators and 40,000 assistants.
Anna Rinaldi, 50, runs Hollycats Community Development Association in Leytonstone, London. Hollycats provides out-of-school child care in the form of a breakfast club, an after-school club, a holiday places scheme and various youth projects. The club is a charity but also has places subsidised by the local authority and other bodies, because it takes special needs children. Anna works full time from 10am to 6pm and says that her job includes everything from buying plasters for the first-aid box to fundraising to ensuring the health and safety regulations of the premises are maintained. She also monitors the work of the club to provide information to funding bodies.
Hollycats has places for 48 children who are collected from two schools. At the club they are given a nutritious snack such as a jacket potato or sandwich (the club hopes to introduce a hot meal soon). The children are then divided into groups and allowed to choose from different activities. Anna explains, 'They can play outside at football or ball games, or they can go to the local park, or swimming, with one of the playworkers. They can also stay indoors and do arts and crafts, play games, construct things, read comics and books, draw, dress up or play make-believe games.
The club does its best to ensure that every childs individual needs are met. 'We get to know the parents so we can support the family as well as the child, says Anna, who sometimes works with the children herself to cover a shift if one of her staff team is off sick or on holiday.
Anna, who started her career with children by running a playgroup when her own two daughters were young, worked at a creche, at a secondary school and in social services before heading up Hollycats.
Maureen McColl has a part-time job at an after-school club in Liverpool. 'I love working with children and it is so much fun. There are no real hassles or pressure and the parents are very pleased with the set-up because they know that their children are safe and being well cared for, she says. Maureen is a grandmother and this is the first job she has done in 23 years, but it suits her perfectly.
'I have three children two are grown up and my youngest is 15. I didnt want to work full-time and this job is term-time only, so it is just right for me. She starts work at 3pm and sets up the tables with toys and games, and then when the children arrive she usually does arts and crafts with them. 'I enjoy painting and making things so I love helping the children do that. Today, for instance, we made a little jack-in-the-box for the children to take home.
For people who can be flexible in the hours they work and who want to earn more, there is the option of working in a club during the school holidays as well as after school. Marlon Minti, 20, has been a playworker for three years at the East Reading after-school club. He works from 2.30pm to 6.30pm during term time and in the holidays he works at the play club from 8am to 6pm. He spends time with the children as well as supervising and training other staff.
Marlon has an NVQ Level 2 in playwork which he got while working at the club and he is very happy with the way his job is progressing. 'I get a lot of job satisfaction Im not just sitting in an office filling in forms, I get feedback from the parents and people in the community. We run proper activities and play games with the children, and they are learning social skills while having fun at the same time.
Marlon earns 6.13 an hour and while he knows that he does not earn as much as his friends, he is not worried. He says, 'At the end of the day I've had a good time and they've just been sitting around in an office and I know that as I progress the pay increases. Rates of pay for playworkers vary, but Anne Longfield says the Kids Club Network recommends 8 an hour for assistants and 10 an hour for co-ordinators. 'However, she says, 'Many clubs are far behind that the average pay last year was 4 for assistants and 6 for co-ordinators.
For playworkers who gain qualifications there are opportunities for career progression if they become co-ordinators or set up their own club. Anne Longfield was a playworker herself before the KCN and ran an out-of-school club for three years. She says that the skills she learned are invaluable. 'If you can work with children and parents and communicate well, then these are very good management skills that will stand you in good stead when you come to work in bigger organisations.
Anne says that over the next couple of years there will be a much greater emphasis on the recruitment of playworkers. 'If you like working with kids this is a great area to be in, particularly for those who enjoy the challenge of working with older children. l
